The son of the late MKO Abiola and Kudirat Abiola, Abdulmumuni Abiola, has stated that he was always aware that his father won the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
He said this while reacting to former Military President of Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida, who recently expressed regret over his decision to annul Abiola’s victory.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise News on Friday, Abiola stated that the former military leader’s remorse for the annulment validates the long-held truth about the election.
He also disclosed that his father and mother lost their lives while dealing with the aftereffects of the annulled election
He said, “In the revelations that we heard from the late head of state yesterday, there were two parts for me. The first part was the acknowledgement that Abiola, my father, had won the 1993 elections. That, for me, I already knew that. And it was, for me, even from the young age of eight when the elections were held, I knew my father had won the elections even before they were announced.
“I think the second part was more important for me, the acknowledgement that he felt remorse for the actions that he had taken at the time and also his expression that if he had the opportunity to do it again, he would have taken a different path. I think it’s important that we understand that we’re human and it’s in humans to error and what we need to do is to acknowledge when we make those mistakes and seek forgiveness. So, for me, I think that was more important to me, the fact that he expressed that remorse towards the decision that he had made.”
I Lost A Protector When My Mother Died
Reflecting on the personal and national trauma caused by the annulment, Abdulmumuni said, “When we look at the events of June 12 1993, it brings up a lot of emotions for me. I remember after the election was annulled, I remember my father struggling to get his mandate, struggling to get justice for what he assumed was the wrongful annulment of the election. It proceeded for him to get arrested. He eventually lost his life. At the time when he had gotten arrested, my mom had come out and tried to get him released, and ended up losing her life. So, I know what was lost. I lost a companion in my mother, I lost a guardian, I lost a protector.
“I basically became an orphan based on that event or that era. You see, I’ve always lived a life, my father was one to always turn your other cheek, in my religion it talks about forgiveness. It talks about forgiving not necessarily for the perpetrator’s sake, but for your sake so you can actually move on. And I think that this was traumatic for the Abiola family, but it was also traumatic for the Nigerian people as well. You mentioned some of your colleagues, their experiences around that time and how they were so afraid. It was uncertain, the future was uncertain for a bunch of Nigerians. We lost a lot of great Nigerian people who felt that Nigeria was not redeemable and they left the country. There was a lot of brain drain in that period as well.”
